All blog posts are by University of Michigan students who have participated in a CGIS program. The following blogs are students studying abroad in Prague, Czech Republic.

Winter 2018

Margot reflects on her semester in Prague

I have officially been in Prague for one week! It is crazy to think that it has only been a week because it feels way longer. Jet lag truly disorients the brain’s sense of time. Even though it has felt longer than a week, everything is still very new. It is almost as though I am starting college again because there are heavy adjustments to be made and change is happening. This feeling of apprehension is simultaneously daunting and exciting. I already can feel myself striving to be more independent and going outside my comfort zone. I feel that I usually take the easy way out or avoid things that may be scary or difficult. I fear that sense of disappointment or failure and I hope that the new setting and challenges of this semester will push me to believe in myself and do things I may not normally do.

Spring/Summer 2018

Zainab reflects on her spring term in Prague

We gathered today for the first time at a Czech restaurant with CET staff for our “Welcome Dinner”. I couldn’t help but notice that there were only 3 people of color in the room, and I was one of them. This came as a bit of a relief as well as a disappointment. I anticipated that I would be the only POC in the room, so I was pleasantly surprised to see other women of color.

Vladislav reflects on his spring term in Prague

The Czech Republic has an incredibly complex history for a country that is relatively young. As an average American, there was little that I knew about this country as I came into it to study abroad in Prague this spring, but coming out of the city 3 weeks later, I felt that I have learned more than I ever could have back in the United States, both through the class that we took, as well as my personal experience.